Womens State League Finals Series Round 1 Review

A terrific first week of the Women’s State League finals series saw Bankstown City defeat Southern Districts Emeralds 5-2, while UNSW did enough to beat Sydney Olympic 2-1.

Elimination Final

Bankstown City 5-2 Southern Districts Emeralds. Jensen Park.

Under sunny skies, an entertaining seven goal encounter at Jensen Park saw Bankstown City win their elimination final over Southern Districts Emeralds. Three first half goals from the home side was enough to see Bankstown through to the next stage of the finals, despite a late comeback from Southern Districts.

After a somewhat shaky start from Bankstown, the nerves were settled after Georgina Stylianou put the home side in front on ten minutes. After some terrific build up play from Tanya Baban, Mel Parlato and Sam Muscat earned Bankstown a free-kick on the edge of the box, Stylianou sidled up and, as she so often does, casually lofted the ball into the top of the net.

Despite the early lead, Southern Districts were getting plenty of touches on the ball, although they were largely contained outside Bankstown’s penalty area. On 15 minutes, Kristy Rohrer had the visitors first shot in anger, but it was sprayed high and wide.

The last time these two sides met, Southern Districts were punished early on for their high defensive line by Samantha Muscat. A fortnight on and little had been learned, with Muscat and Baban making several runs in behind the defence, with Parlato and Liana Babic the providers.

This was evident on 20 minutes, as Mel Parlato slipped a slide rule pass through a crowded defensive area for the onrushing Tania Baban. Southern Districts’ goalkeeper Liana Ferreira made it there first, but her sliding clearance bounced off Baban’s shins and back into the net. Describing it as a lucky would be to take away from the excellent build-up play from Bankstown City.

Southern Districts tried to get back into the contest, but without much fluidity were reduced to long-range speculative efforts, the best of which came from Kristy Rohrer. On the stroke of half-time, Amy Dahdah made it three with some persistent play and an excellent finish.

The second half started totally different from the first, as Southern Districts winger Abir Awad tested the Bankstown goal twice in two minutes, while Louise Howard, Sherie Bryant and Kristy Roher started to claw back possession. The game then descended into tit-for-tat fouls as players began to tire in the heat.

With the votes being counted on election day, Kristy Rohrer showed that she has more fighting spirit than all the pollies put together, pulling a goal back with a thirty-yard thunderbolt on 60 minutes.

With a hint of a comeback in the air, second half substitute Georgia Klapos threaded a delightful ball through to Samantha Muscat, who once again beat the offside trap to register her first goal of the evening and Bankstown’s fourth. Undeterred, Rohrer again popped up to finish off a smart piece of play from Sherie Bryant down the right flank. I’m not certain what Kristy Rohrer’s politics are, but after her leadership this season, if she ever wants to run to become the next female PM, she’s got my vote.

It was Bankstown though, who had the last laugh, as Muscat scored again after a superb defence-splitting run and finish to make it 5-2 at the final whistle. Bankstown now face off against Sydney Olympic in the first semi final next Saturday. On the strength of this performance, Olympic should be wary.

Qualifying Final

UNSW Lions 2-1 Sydney Olympic. Valentine Sports Park.

UNSW lost their home ground advantage, but with the game played closer to Belmore than Daceyville, still nothing could stop the Lions from a hard fought win over Sydney Olympic. Goals from Gabrielle Marzano and Ayse Adalis on either side of half time was enough for UNSW to book their place in the next stage of the finals.

This was a match that was always going to be a contrast of two different styles. While UNSW like to play pretty passing football with a 4-3-3 formation, Sydney Olympic play a much more direct, uncompromising game with two quick strikers, a sweeper and Kylie Manias, Sydney Olympic’s answer to Rory Delap. There are many ways to skin a cat, but today UNSW came out on top both in the possession stats and on the scoreboard.

The first chance of the match fell to Olympic striker Lisa Mitchell, who skied her shot from close range off a Kalista Tsoupis corner. From there it was all UNSW, as Rachelle Godman began to dominate the midfield in an inspiring first half performance.

Within ten minutes, Ayse Adalis and Monica Kavanagh had both threatened the Olympic goal, while Adalis was denied what looked to be a certain penalty shout on the 11 minute mark. Gabrielle Marzano was drawing “oohs” and “aahs” from the gallery with casual flicks and feints, and you could tell she was in the mood to impress.

On 26 minutes a perfectly placed lofted ball from Marzano found Kavanagh in space down the left channel, but Kavanagh couldn’t finish the chance. Then Adalis blasted just over the bar from 25 yards. With the pressure building on Olympic, Kalista Tsoupis brought down Marzano in the penalty area, and this time the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot. Marzano dusted herself off and slotted home, putting UNSW ahead.

Instead of buckling, however, Sydney Olympic bounced back straight away, with Kate Mitrevski blasting her side back into the hunt with a thunderbolt from the top of the box. It was a timely response just before half time, and fitting that it came from Mitrevski, who was inspirational throughout.

However, the second half was much the same as the first for UNSW, who continued to hold possession and create opportunities. The composure of Deirdre Barham at the heart of Uni’s defence was crucial, as was the invention of Shani Lauf and the industry of Alice Kriesler.

But the standout three were Gabrielle Marzano, Monica Kavanagh and Ayse Adalis, and on 60 minutes it was plain to see why. Marzano, who had shifted into the middle of the park, lofted a superb left foot pass over the defence into space for Kavanagh, who delivered a perfect cross for Adalis to tap home. It took two smart touches for Adalis to show why she’s still the best striker in the Women’s State League.

There were a few more chances for both sides, not to mention some eccentric refereeing decisions, but Adalis winner was enough for UNSW to book their place against Western NSW Mariners. Sydney Olympic face a nervous wait on Lisa Mitchell, who suffered an injury late in the game, while UNSW will hope Rochelle Godman will be fit enough for next Sunday.

Reserves

At Jensen Park, a Georgia Lardis strike was enough for Sydney Olympic to defeat Southern Branch, while at Valentine Sports Park, a late Desiree Vassallo goal was not enough for Parramatta Ladyhawks, who went down 2-1 to Western NSW Mariners.

-By Joe Gorman